Compiled by the Editorial Team, ECT Bible Research Institute
— Through the Night of the Law to the Dawn of Grace —
In the early eighteenth century, England lay in deep spiritual and moral decline. The lives of ordinary people were mired in the swamp of alcoholism known as the “Gin Craze.” Gin, cheaper than water, flooded the streets, and London society had grown so degraded that signs reportedly advertised, “Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for twopence, clean straw for nothing.”
The intellectual climate was no different. With the dawning of the “Age of Reason,” the Christian faith faced the cold challenge of Deism. In a climate that regarded God as little more than a “watchmaker” who built the world and then watched it from a distance, the pulpits echoed not with the life-giving gospel but with mere moral instruction. It was precisely to end this spiritual winter that God was preparing one young man.
Born in 1732 as the son of an innkeeper in Gloucester, George Whitefield entered Pembroke College, Oxford, as a “servitor” — a low social status in which he waited on wealthy students in exchange for a waiver of tuition. Yet within his heart burned an extraordinary spiritual hunger.
He soon joined, at the invitation of Charles Wesley, the “Holy Club” led by John Wesley. In this group — nicknamed “Methodists” for their regimented fasting, prayer, and charitable work — Whitefield drove himself harder than anyone. He fasted every Wednesday and Friday, subsisted on sugarless tea and coarse bread, and went out to pray in the woods even in bitter, biting cold. He punished his own body so severely that his hands turned black with frostbite, struggling with all his might to reach salvation. But the more he clung to the works of the law, the more the weight of guilt grew, with no peace of mind to be found.
As Whitefield grew exhausted from his relentless asceticism, a decisive turning point arrived. It came in the form of a book his friend Charles Wesley handed him: Henry Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of Man.
This book shook Whitefield’s entire understanding of religion to its foundation. Scougal defined true religion in its pages as “not the fulfilling of outward duties, but the union of the soul with God, and the forming of Christ within us.” Until then, Whitefield had believed that salvation depended on “what I do” — but through this book, he came to realize that salvation is, instead, “a new birth.” He now understood in his mind that he “must be born again” — but he had not yet experienced it in his heart.
During Lent of 1735, Whitefield’s self-mortification reached its peak. Worn down by spiritual struggle and physical abuse, he finally collapsed. His condition became so severe that a physician was called to his bedside, and he was confined to bed for roughly seven weeks. Yet this time on his sickbed became the time of “holy visitation” that God had prepared for him.
In the helplessness of being able to do nothing by his own strength, Whitefield meditated on the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Then, one day, overcome by intense thirst himself, he recalled the words Jesus had cried out from the cross: “I thirst.” He projected his own spiritual thirst onto those words, threw himself upon his bed, and cried out: “I thirst! I thirst!”
This was no mere complaint of physical thirst. It was a declaration of surrender — laying down all his own righteousness and effort, and seeking the grace of Christ alone. In that very moment, the heavy burden that had crushed him was lifted. Sorrow vanished, and an inexpressible joy filled his soul. The night of the law had passed, and at last the dawn of grace had broken.
The flame of conversion did not remain confined to Whitefield alone. In 1736, ordained at the age of twenty-one, he preached his first sermon at St. Mary de Crypt Church in his hometown of Gloucester. His sermon, crying out “You must be born again!”, was of an entirely different order than the moral homilies that had come before.
His preaching was powerful. People were struck with shock upon hearing him, and some even complained to the bishop that he had “driven people mad.” It is reported that as many as fifteen people, upon hearing his sermon, reacted so violently that they lost consciousness. Yet Bishop Benson, rather than condemning him, acknowledged his spiritual power, saying he hoped “the madness would not be forgotten by next Sunday.”
This conversion, which George Whitefield experienced in a small dormitory room at Oxford, would later become the starting point of the Great Awakening that shook both England and America. The failure of one young man who had tried to reach heaven through his own effort became the surest channel through which the grace of God would come.
Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th-Century Revival. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970.
Kidd, Thomas S. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Scougal, Henry. The Life of God in the Soul of Man. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.
Whitefield, George. George Whitefield’s Journals. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960.
ECT圣经研究院编辑部 编
——越过律法的黑夜，迎向恩典的黎明——
18世纪初的英国，正陷入灵性与道德的深度低迷之中。平民百姓的生活，挣扎于所谓”杜松子酒狂潮（Gin Craze）”的酗酒泥沼里。比水还便宜的杜松子酒泛滥街头，伦敦街头甚至挂出”一便士买醉，两便士烂醉，睡觉不要钱”的招牌，可见社会已何等凋敝。
知识界的状况也毫无二致。随着”理性时代（Age of Reason）”的降临，基督教信仰正遭受冷酷的自然神论（Deism）的挑战。人们将神视为一位造完世界后便远远旁观的”钟表匠”，在这样的风气之下，讲坛上回响的不再是充满生命力的福音，而只剩道德训诫。神正是为了终结这个属灵的严冬，预备了一位青年。
1732年，出生于格洛斯特一间酒馆之家的乔治·怀特腓，以”勤工助学生（Servitor）”的身份进入牛津大学彭布罗克学院。他要伺候贵族学生以换取学费的减免，身份低微，然而他的心中却怀有非同寻常的属灵渴慕。
不久，他应查理·卫斯理之邀，加入了约翰·卫斯理所带领的”圣洁会（Holy Club）”。这个因规律的禁食、祷告与济贫活动而被人戏称为”循规者（Methodist）”的团契中，怀特腓比任何人都更严厉地鞭策自己。他每逢周三、周五禁食，仅以无糖的茶与粗粝的面包果腹，甚至在刺骨的严寒中也走进树林祷告。他的双手甚至冻伤发黑，如此苛待自己的身体，只为挣扎着求得救恩。然而，他越是执着于律法的行为，心中非但没有平安，罪疚感反倒愈发沉重。
就在怀特腓因极端禁欲的生活而疲惫不堪之际，一个决定性的转折点降临了。那是友人查理·卫斯理递给他的一本书——亨利·斯库格尔（Henry Scougal）所著的《神在人灵魂中的生命》（The Life of God in the Soul of Man）。
这本书彻底颠覆了怀特腓原有的宗教观。斯库格尔在书中如此定义：”真正的宗教，并非尽外在的义务，而是灵魂与神的联合，是基督在我们里面成形。”在此之前，怀特腓一直相信得救取决于”我做了什么（Doing）”，而藉着这本书，他终于领悟到，得救乃是”一次新生（Being）”。他在头脑中明白了自己”必须重生”这一事实，然而在心里，却尚未真正经历过。
1735年大斋期，怀特腓的苦行到达了极点。他终因属灵的争战与身体的摧残而病倒了。他的病情严重到需要医生登门诊治，卧床长达约七周之久。然而，这段病榻上的时光，正是神为他预备的”圣洁的探访”之时。
在那种凭自己毫无能力的无助之中，怀特腓默想着耶稣在十字架上所受的苦难。某一天，正感极度干渴的他，忽然想起耶稣在十字架上所喊出的那句话：”我渴了（I thirst）。”他将自己灵里的干渴投射在这句话上，扑倒在床上呼喊道：”我渴了！我渴了！”
那并非仅仅是对干渴的呼求，而是一次全然放下自己的义与努力、唯独寻求基督恩典的降服宣告。就在那一刻，压在他身上的重担被卸下了。忧伤消散，无法言喻的喜乐充满了他的灵魂。律法的黑夜已然过去，恩典的黎明终于降临。
归信的火焰并未止步于怀特腓一人。1736年，年仅21岁的他被按立为圣职人员，并在故乡格洛斯特的圣马利亚德克里普特教堂完成了他人生的第一篇讲道。他高呼：”你们必须重生！”这篇讲道，与从前的道德训话截然不同，层次全然不一样。
他的讲道充满能力。人们听了他的讲道大受震撼，甚至有人向主教投诉，说他”把人们逼疯了”。据传，确有15人在听他讲道时激动到昏厥。然而本森主教却反倒承认了他属灵的能力，说：”但愿这份’疯狂’，直到下个主日都不会被遗忘。”
乔治·怀特腓在牛津一间狭小宿舍房间中所经历的这场归信事件，日后竟成了震撼英美两国的”大觉醒运动”（Great Awakening）的起点。一个青年凭人的努力企图够着天堂却终告失败，反倒成了神恩典临到最确实的通道。
Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th-Century Revival. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970.
Kidd, Thomas S. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Scougal, Henry. The Life of God in the Soul of Man. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.
Whitefield, George. George Whitefield’s Journals. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960.
ECT聖書研究院編集部 編
― 律法の夜を過ぎて恵みの夜明けへ ―
18世紀初頭のイギリスは、霊的にも道徳的にも深い停滞期に陥っていました。庶民の生活は、いわゆる「ジン・クレイズ（Gin Craze）」と呼ばれるアルコール依存の泥沼でもがき苦しんでいました。水よりも安いジンが街にあふれ、ロンドンでは「酔うのに1ペニー、泥酔するのに2ペニー、寝床はただ」という文句が掲げられるほど、社会は荒廃しきっていました。
知識人の世界の状況も同様でした。「理性の時代（Age of Reason）」が到来し、キリスト教信仰は冷ややかな理神論（Deism）の挑戦を受けていました。神を、ただ世界を造った後は遠くから眺めているだけの「時計職人」程度に見なす風潮の中で、説教壇からは、いのちある福音の代わりに道徳的な訓戒だけが響き渡るばかりでした。神はまさにこの霊的な冬を終わらせるために、ひとりの青年を備えておられたのです。
1732年、グロスターの居酒屋の息子として生まれたジョージ・ホイットフィールドは、オックスフォードのペンブローク・カレッジに「給費生（Servitor）」として入学しました。貴族の学生たちの世話をすることで学費を免除される低い身分でしたが、彼の胸のうちには人並み外れた霊的渇望がありました。
彼はほどなく、チャールズ・ウェスレーの招きにより、ジョン・ウェスレーが率いる「ホーリー・クラブ（Holy Club）」に加わりました。規則正しい断食と祈り、施しの活動ゆえに「規則屋（Methodist）」と呼ばれたこの集まりの中で、ホイットフィールドはだれよりも徹底的に自らを鞭打ちました。彼は水曜日と金曜日ごとに断食し、砂糖の入らないお茶と粗末なパンだけで食事を済ませ、身を切るような寒さの中でも森に出て祈りました。手が凍傷で黒く変わるほど、彼は自らの肉体を痛めつけながら救いに至ろうともがき苦しみました。しかし、彼が律法の行いにすがればすがるほど、心の平安どころか、罪責感の重さが増していくばかりでした。
徹底した禁欲生活に疲れ果てていたホイットフィールドに、決定的な転機が訪れました。友人チャールズ・ウェスレーが手渡してくれた、ヘンリー・スクーガル（Henry Scougal）の著書『人間の魂における神のいのち（The Life of God in the Soul of Man）』でした。
この本は、ホイットフィールドが抱いていた宗教観を根底から揺さぶりました。スクーガルはこの書の中で、「真の宗教とは、外的な義務を果たすことではなく、魂と神との連合であり、私たちのうちにキリストが形づくられることである」と定義しました。ホイットフィールドはそれまで、救いとは「自分が何をするか（Doing）」にかかっていると信じていましたが、この本を通して、救いとは「新しい誕生（Being）」であることを悟るに至りました。彼は自分が「必ず新しく生まれなければならない」という事実を頭では理解しましたが、まだ心でそれを体験してはいませんでした。
1735年の四旬節、ホイットフィールドの苦行は極みに達しました。彼は霊的な戦いと肉体的な虐待のために、ついに倒れてしまいました。医師が往診に来るほど深刻な状態であった彼は、およそ7週間、病床に伏して過ごさねばなりませんでした。しかし、この病床での時間こそ、神が彼のために備えられた「聖なる訪れ」の時であったのです。
自分の力では何もできない無力感の中で、ホイットフィールドは十字架の上のイエス様の苦しみを黙想しました。そんなある日、激しい渇きを覚えていた彼は、イエス様が十字架の上で叫ばれた「わたしは渇く（I thirst）」という御言葉を思い起こしました。彼は自分の霊的な渇きをその御言葉に重ね合わせ、ベッドの上に身を投げ出して叫びました。「わたしは渇いています！わたしは渇いています！」
それは単なる渇きの訴えではありませんでした。自らの義と努力をすべて捨て去り、ただキリストの恵みだけを求める降伏の宣言でした。まさにその瞬間、彼を押しつぶしていた重い荷が取り除かれました。悲しみが消え去り、言葉に尽くせぬ喜びが彼の魂を満たしました。律法の夜が過ぎ去り、ついに恵みの夜明けが訪れたのです。
回心の炎は、ホイットフィールドひとりにとどまりませんでした。1736年、21歳で聖職者となった彼は、故郷グロスターの聖メアリー・デ・クリプト教会で最初の説教を行いました。「あなたがたは新しく生まれなければなりません！」と叫ぶ彼の説教は、それまでの道徳的な訓話とはまったく次元の異なるものでした。
彼の説教は力強いものでした。人々は彼の説教を聞いて衝撃を受け、一部の者は彼が「人々を狂わせた」として主教に抗議するほどでした。実際、15人もの人が彼の説教を聞いて気を失うほど激しい反応を示したと伝えられています。しかしベンソン主教はむしろ、「その狂気が次の主日まで忘れられないことを願う」と述べ、彼の霊的な力を認めたのでした。
ジョージ・ホイットフィールドがオックスフォードの小さな寮の一室で経験したこの回心の出来事は、のちにイギリスとアメリカを揺るがした大覚醒運動（Great Awakening）の出発点となりました。人間の努力によって天に届こうとしたひとりの青年の挫折は、神の恵みが臨む最も確かな通路となったのです。
Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th-Century Revival. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970.
Kidd, Thomas S. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Scougal, Henry. The Life of God in the Soul of Man. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.
Whitefield, George. George Whitefield’s Journals. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960.
액트성경연구원 편집부 엮음
– 율법의 밤을 지나 은혜의 새벽으로 –
18세기 초 영국은 영적으로나 도덕적으로 깊은 침체기에 빠져 있었습니다. 서민들의 삶은 소위 ‘진 광풍(Gin Craze)’이라 불리는 알코올 중독의 늪에서 허우적대고 있었습니다. 물보다 싼 진(Gin)이 거리에 넘쳐났고, 런던에서는 “술에 취하는 데 1페니, 만취하는 데 2페니, 잠자리는 공짜”라는 문구가 나붙을 정도로 사회는 피폐해져 있었습니다.
지성계의 상황도 다르지 않았습니다. ‘이성의 시대(Age of Reason)’가 도래하며, 기독교 신앙은 차가운 이신론(Deism)의 도전을 받고 있었습니다. 하나님을 그저 세상을 만든 뒤 멀리서 지켜보기만 하는 ‘시계공’ 정도로 여기는 풍조 속에서, 강단에서는 생명력 있는 복음 대신 도덕적인 훈계만이 울려 퍼질 뿐이었습니다. 하나님은 바로 이 영적인 겨울을 끝내기 위해 한 청년을 준비시키고 계셨습니다.
1732년, 글로스터의 술집 아들로 태어난 조지 휘필드는 옥스퍼드 펨브룩 칼리지에 ‘근로 장학생(Servitor)’으로 입학했습니다. 귀족 학생들의 시중을 들며 학비를 면제받는 낮은 신분이었지만, 그의 가슴 속에는 남다른 영적 갈망이 있었습니다.
그는 곧 찰스 웨슬리의 초청으로 존 웨슬리가 이끄는 ‘홀리 클럽(Holy Club)’에 합류했습니다. 규칙적인 금식과 기도, 구제 활동 때문에 ‘규칙쟁이(Methodist)’라 불리던 이 모임에서 휘필드는 누구보다 철저하게 자신을 채찍질했습니다. 그는 수요일과 금요일마다 금식했고, 설탕 없는 차와 거친 빵만으로 끼니를 때웠으며, 살을 에는 듯한 추위 속에서도 숲에 나가 기도했습니다. 손이 동상으로 검게 변할 정도로 그는 자신의 육체를 학대하며 구원에 이르고자 몸부림쳤습니다. 하지만 그가 율법의 행위에 매달릴수록, 마음의 평안은커녕 죄책감의 무게만 더해질 뿐이었습니다.
철저한 금욕 생활로 지쳐가던 휘필드에게 결정적인 전환점이 찾아왔습니다. 친구 찰스 웨슬리가 건넨 헨리 스쿠걸(Henry Scougal)의 책 『인간의 영혼 안에 있는 하나님의 생명(The Life of God in the Soul of Man)』이었습니다.
이 책은 휘필드가 가지고 있던 종교관을 송두리째 뒤흔들었습니다. 스쿠걸은 책에서 “참된 종교는 외적인 의무를 다하는 것이 아니라, 영혼과 하나님의 연합이며 우리 안에 그리스도가 형성되는 것”이라고 정의했습니다. 휘필드는 그때까지 구원이란 ‘내가 무엇을 하는가(Doing)’에 달렸다고 믿었으나, 이 책을 통해 구원이란 ‘새로운 탄생(Being)’임을 깨닫게 되었습니다. 그는 자신이 “반드시 거듭나야 한다”는 사실을 머리로 알게 되었지만, 아직 가슴으로 체험하지는 못한 상태였습니다.
1735년 사순절, 휘필드의 고행은 극에 달했습니다. 그는 영적인 싸움과 육체적인 학대로 인해 결국 쓰러지고 말았습니다. 의사가 왕진을 올 정도로 심각한 상태였던 그는 약 7주간 병상에 누워 지내야 했습니다. 하지만 이 병상에서의 시간은 하나님이 그를 위해 예비하신 ‘거룩한 방문’의 시간이었습니다.
자신의 힘으로 아무것도 할 수 없는 무력감 속에서, 휘필드는 십자가 위 예수님의 고난을 묵상했습니다. 그러던 어느 날, 극심한 갈증을 느끼던 그는 예수님께서 십자가에서 외치신 “내가 목마르다(I thirst)”라는 말씀을 떠올렸습니다. 그는 자신의 영적 목마름을 그 말씀에 투영하며 침대 위로 몸을 던져 절규했습니다. “내가 목마릅니다! 내가 목마릅니다!”
그것은 단순한 갈증의 호소가 아니었습니다. 자신의 의와 노력을 모두 내려놓고, 오직 그리스도의 은혜만을 구하는 항복 선언이었습니다. 바로 그 순간, 그를 짓누르던 무거운 짐이 벗겨졌습니다. 슬픔이 사라지고 말로 다 할 수 없는 기쁨이 그의 영혼을 채웠습니다. 율법의 밤이 지나고, 마침내 은혜의 새벽이 밝아온 것입니다.
회심의 불꽃은 휘필드 한 사람에게 머물지 않았습니다. 1736년, 21세의 나이로 성직자가 된 그는 고향 글로스터의 성 마리아 드 크립트 교회에서 첫 설교를 했습니다. “여러분은 거듭나야 합니다!”라고 외치는 그의 설교는 이전의 도덕적 훈화와는 차원이 달랐습니다.
그의 설교는 강력했습니다. 사람들은 그의 설교를 듣고 충격에 빠졌으며, 일부는 그가 “사람들을 미치게 만들었다”며 주교에게 항의하기까지 했습니다. 실제로 15명의 사람이 그의 설교를 듣고 정신을 잃을 정도로 격렬한 반응을 보였다고 전해집니다. 그러나 벤슨 주교는 오히려 “그 광기가 다음 주일까지 잊히지 않기를 바란다”며 그의 영적 능력을 인정했습니다.
조지 휘필드가 옥스퍼드의 작은 기숙사 방에서 경험한 이 회심 사건은, 훗날 영국과 미국을 뒤흔든 대각성 운동(Great Awakening)의 시작점이 되었습니다. 인간의 노력으로 하늘에 닿으려 했던 한 청년의 실패는, 하나님의 은혜가 임하는 가장 확실한 통로가 되었습니다.
Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the 18th-Century Revival. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970.
Kidd, Thomas S. George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
Scougal, Henry. The Life of God in the Soul of Man. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.
Whitefield, George. George Whitefield’s Journals. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960.
Compiled by the Editorial Team, ECT Bible Research Institute
1) Time and place: This event took place while Luther was living at the Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg (the Black Cloister), in the second-floor study (the “heated room”) of the tower located on the south side of the monastery building. Scholars date this period to between 1515 and 1519, when Luther was lecturing on the Psalms, Romans, and Galatians, and estimate the experience itself occurred around 1519 in particular.
2) Luther’s spiritual and physical condition (Anfechtung): At the time, Luther was undergoing an intense spiritual trial known as Anfechtung. Though he held a doctorate in theology and was a professor of biblical studies, he perceived God not as a merciful Father but as a strict Judge. To make matters worse, he was also suffering greatly from physical ailments, including chronic constipation and hemorrhoids. The study in the tower was the fierce battlefield where he endured physical pain and spiritual struggle at once, immersed in the study of Scripture.
3) The theological dilemma: Medieval scholastic theology (grounded in Aristotelian philosophy) taught the righteousness of God as a distributive justice that repaid each person according to their deeds. By this standard, sinful humanity could never be saved. Luther despaired before this God of justice, and shut himself up in the tower, wrestling with Paul’s epistles.
(The complete account of his conversion, as recorded in the preface to the 1545 edition of his collected Latin works)
At that time I was lecturing once again on the Psalms at the University of Wittenberg. Having already finished my lectures on Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, I had confidence, and I was seized with a burning desire to understand the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans still more deeply. But one phrase at the very opening of Romans chapter 1 stood in my way and blocked my path. It was the word found in Romans 1:17.
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
The problem was the phrase “the righteousness of God” appearing in this verse. I hated this phrase. For according to the customary usage that all the doctors of that time taught, I understood it philosophically — that is, the formal or active righteousness they spoke of meant that God, being righteous, punishes unrighteous sinners.
Though I lived as a blameless monk under the strictest discipline, before God I was still nothing but a sinner with a troubled conscience. I had no confidence that any satisfying deed of mine could please God.
And so I did not love that righteous God who punishes sinners. No — to speak honestly, I hated Him. Though I stopped short of blasphemy, I murmured violently within myself and raged against God, thinking: Is it not enough that we poor sinners, ruined by original sin, are already crushed under every kind of calamity by the law of the Ten Commandments — must God now, even through the gospel, add sorrow upon sorrow, confronting us even within that gospel with His righteousness and His wrath?
I was driven nearly to madness by this raging and troubled conscience. And yet, in spite of everything, I did not leave Paul’s side. I kept knocking there, persistently, driven by a single burning resolve to find out, once and for all, what Paul meant by Romans 1:17 — clinging to it like a thirsting animal. Day and night I meditated, and meditated again. Then, one day, God at last had mercy on me. As I meditated day and night on the Word, I began to pay attention to the connection of the words in their context — namely, that “the righteousness of God is revealed… as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
In that moment, the Word became clear to me. I understood that the righteousness of God spoken of here is not the standard by which God punishes sinners, but rather that righteousness by which the righteous person lives, given to us by God’s grace through faith.
That is to say, the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel is a passive righteousness. It is the gift of God by which the merciful God, through faith, reckons us righteous. This was the true meaning of what Scripture declares: the just shall live by faith.
The moment I grasped this truth, I became an entirely different person. I felt as though I had been born again, and had entered paradise itself through wide-open gates. At once, every word of Scripture wore an entirely different face before me. The very words that had once felt to me like a crushing burden every time I read Scripture now came to me as comfort and joy.
I ran through the Scripture passages I remembered in my mind, and I found this same analogy in other words as well: the power of God is the power by which God makes us strong. The wisdom of God is the wisdom by which God makes us wise. The salvation of God, the glory of God — these too were our salvation and our glory.
Until then, the phrase “the righteousness of God” had been, to me, the most terrifying and hateful phrase in the world. But now that phrase became, to me, the sweetest and most beloved of all. For me, this passage of Paul’s truly became the very gate into paradise.
Afterward, I read Augustine’s work On the Spirit and the Letter, and there I discovered that he too had interpreted the righteousness of God in a similar way — teaching that God makes us righteous by giving righteousness to us. Although Augustine’s explanation did not perfectly account for imputation by faith, it agreed with my own realization on this point: that the righteousness of God is not something we offer to God, but something God gives to us. Strengthened by this, I pressed ever more deeply into the Scriptures.
Martin Luther, “Vorrede zum ersten Bande der Gesamtausgaben seiner lateinischen Schriften (1545),” in D. Martin Luthers Werke: kritische Gesamtausgabe, Vol. 54 (Weimar: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1928), 185-86.
ECT圣经研究院编辑部 编
1）时间与地点：这一事件发生在路德居住于维滕堡奥古斯丁修道院（黑修道院）期间，地点是修道院建筑南侧那座高塔二楼的书房（暖房）。学者们推测，这一时期大约是路德讲授诗篇、罗马书、加拉太书的1515年至1519年之间，尤以1519年前后为最可能的时间。
2）路德的灵性与身体状况（Anfechtung，属灵的煎熬）：当时的路德正经历着被称为”Anfechtung”的极度属灵试炼。他虽是神学博士、圣经学教授，却将神视为严厉的审判者，而非慈爱的父。更糟的是，他还饱受慢性便秘与痔疮等身体疾病的极大折磨。塔中的书房，正是他在忍受身体痛苦与属灵挣扎的同时，埋首圣经研究的激烈战场。
3）神学上的难题：中世纪经院神学（以亚里士多德哲学为基础）将神的义教导为按各人行为施行报应的”分配性公义”。按此标准，身为罪人的人类绝无可能得救。路德在这位施行公义的神面前陷入绝望，遂将自己关在塔中，紧握保罗书信，与之苦苦摔跤。
（记载于1545年拉丁文著作全集序言中的完整归信历程）
那时，我正在维滕堡大学再次讲授诗篇。此前我已讲完罗马书、加拉太书、希伯来书，故而颇有自信，并热切渴望更深地领悟使徒保罗的罗马书。然而，罗马书第一章开篇的一句话，却挡住了我的道路——那正是罗马书1章17节的话语。
“神的义正在这福音上显明出来；这义是本于信，以致于信。如经上所记：义人必因信得生。”（罗马书1章17节）
问题就出在这节经文中”神的义”这个词上。我厌恶这个词。因为按照当时所有博士们所教导的惯常用法，我是从哲学的角度来理解它的——也就是说，他们所谓的形式的、主动的公义，意思是：神既是公义的，就必惩罚不义的罪人。
我虽是一个无可指摘的修士，严守戒律而活，但在神面前，我依然只是一个良心不安的罪人。我从未确信自己有哪一件令人满意的行为，能使神喜悦。
正因如此，我并不爱那位公义的神，那位惩罚罪人的神。不，坦白说，我憎恨祂。我虽未至于亵渎，却在心中激烈地嘀咕抱怨，向神发怒：可怜的罪人因原罪而注定永远沉沦，十诫的律法所带来的种种灾难还不够吗？难道神竟要藉着福音，将苦难加于苦难之上，甚至在这福音之中，也要以祂的公义与愤怒来威吓我们吗？
我就这样因这粗暴而混乱的良心，几乎痛苦得发狂。然而尽管如此，我却始终没有离开保罗身边，反倒锲而不舍地叩问那段经文，一心要弄清楚保罗在罗马书1章17节中到底要说什么，如同干渴的野兽一般紧紧抓住不放。我昼夜默想，反复默想。终于有一天，神怜悯了我。我在昼夜默想话语之际，注意到了这节经文的上下文——也就是”神的义显明出来……如经上所记：义人必因信得生”这句话之间的连接。
就在那一刻，这话语清晰地向我显明：这里所说的神的义，并非神惩罚罪人的标准，而是神藉着恩典赐给我们的信心，使义人因此得以存活的那种义。
换言之，福音中所显明的神的义，乃是一种被动的义。这是那位满有怜悯的神，藉着信心将我们算为义人所赐下的礼物。这正是圣经所说”义人必因信得生”的真正含义。
就在领悟这真理的那一刻，我彻底变成了一个全新的人。我感到自己仿佛重生了一般，穿过敞开的大门，径直走进了乐园本身。刹那间，圣经中的每一句话，都以完全不同的面貌向我显现。从前每次读经时都感觉如同重担一般的那些词语，如今却成了安慰与喜乐。
我在脑海中回想起那些记得的经文，发现在其他词语中也有着同样的类比：神的能力，是神使我们刚强的能力；神的智慧，是神使我们有智慧的智慧；神的救恩、神的荣耀，同样也是我们的救恩、我们的荣耀。
在此之前，”神的义”这个词，对我而言是这世上最可怕、最可憎的词语；然而如今，这个词却成了对我而言最甜美、最可爱的词语。对我而言，保罗的这一节经文，真真实实地成了通往天国的门。
此后，我读了奥古斯丁的著作《论精意与文字》，发现他对神的义也有着相似的诠释：神藉着将义赐给我们，从而使我们成为义人。尽管奥古斯丁的解释未能完全说明因信而得的归算，但他所教导的——神的义并非我们献给神的，而是神赐给我们的——这一点，与我的领悟完全一致。我藉着这股力量的扶持，更深地进入了圣经之中。
Martin Luther, “Vorrede zum ersten Bande der Gesamtausgaben seiner lateinischen Schriften (1545),” in D. Martin Luthers Werke: kritische Gesamtausgabe, Vol. 54 (Weimar: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1928), 185-86.
ECT聖書研究院編集部 編
（聖書引用は口語訳による）
1）時期と場所：この出来事は、ルターがヴィッテンベルクのアウグスティノ修道院（黒い修道院）に住んでいた時期、修道院の建物の南側に位置する塔の2階の書斎（暖かい部屋）で起こりました。学者たちは、この時期をルターが詩篇、ローマ人への手紙、ガラテヤ人への手紙の講義を行っていた1515年から1519年の間、特に1519年頃と推定しています。
2）ルターの霊的・肉体的状態（アンフェヒトゥング）：当時ルターは、アンフェヒトゥングと呼ばれる激しい霊的試練を経験していました。彼は神学博士であり聖書学の教授でしたが、神を慈しみ深い父としてではなく、厳格な裁判官として認識していました。さらに悪いことに、彼は慢性的な便秘や痔などの肉体的な病気によっても大きな苦しみを受けていました。塔の中の書斎は、彼が肉体的苦痛と霊的な格闘を同時に耐え忍びながら聖書研究に没頭していた、激しい戦場でした。
3）神学的難問：中世のスコラ神学（アリストテレス哲学に基づく）は、神の義を、各人にその行いに応じて報いる分配的正義として教えていました。この基準によれば、罪人である人間は決して救われることがありませんでした。ルターはこの義の神の前で絶望し、塔にこもってパウロの書簡を手に格闘したのです。
（1545年、ラテン語著作全集の序文に記された回心の全貌）
私はその頃、ヴィッテンベルク大学で詩篇を再び講義していました。ローマ人への手紙、ガラテヤ人への手紙、ヘブル人への手紙の講義を終えたあとで自信があり、使徒パウロのローマ人への手紙をさらに深く理解したいという熱望に捕らえられていました。しかし、ローマ人への手紙1章の冒頭に出てくるひとつの言葉が、私の道をふさいでいました。それは、まさにローマ人への手紙1章17節の言葉でした。
「神の義は、その福音の中に啓示され、信仰に始まり信仰に至らせる。これは、『信仰による義人は生きる』と書いてあるとおりである」（ローマ人への手紙1章17節）
この節に出てくる「神の義」という言葉が問題でした。私はこの言葉を嫌悪していました。なぜなら、当時すべての博士たちが教えていた慣習的な用法にしたがって、私はこれを哲学的に理解していたからです。すなわち、彼らの言う形式的、あるいは能動的な正義とは、神は義しいお方であるゆえに、不義なる罪人たちを罰せられる、という意味でした。
私は非の打ちどころのない修道士として、厳格な規律のうちに生きていましたが、神の御前ではなおも不安な良心を抱えた罪人にすぎませんでした。私のどのような満足すべき行いをもってしても、神を喜ばせられるという確信はありませんでした。
それゆえ、私はその義なる神、罪人を罰せられるその神を愛してはいませんでした。いや、正直に言えば、私はそのお方を憎んでいました。私は冒涜とまでは言わないまでも、心の中で激しくつぶやきながら、神に対して怒りを覚えていました。哀れな罪人たちが原罪のゆえに永遠に滅びるほかなく、十戒の律法によってあらゆる災いを受けるだけでは足りないというのか。神は福音を通してまでも苦しみに苦しみを加え、その福音のうちにおいてさえ、ご自分の義と怒りを突きつけて私たちを脅かされるというのか。
私はこのように荒々しく混乱した良心のために、狂わんばかりに苦しみました。それにもかかわらず、私はパウロのそばを離れませんでした。私はしつこくそこを叩き続けました。パウロがいったいローマ人への手紙1章17節を通して何を言おうとしていたのか、どうしても知り尽くさずにはおかないという一念で、渇いた獣のようにすがりつきました。私は昼も夜も、黙想に黙想を重ねました。そうするうちにある日、神はついに私を憐れんでくださいました。私は昼も夜も御言葉を黙想するうちに、この節の文脈、すなわち「神の義が啓示され……『信仰による義人は生きる』と書いてある」という御言葉のつながりに注目するようになりました。
その瞬間、御言葉が私に鮮明に迫ってきました。ここで言う神の義とは、神が罪人を罰する基準ではなく、神が恵みによって私たちに与えてくださる信仰によって、義人が生きるようになる、その義を意味するという事実です。
すなわち、福音に現された神の義は、受動的な義でした。これは、慈しみ深い神が、信仰を通して私たちを義と認めてくださる、神の賜物なのです。これこそ、聖書が語る「義人は信仰によって生きる」の真の意味だったのです。
この真理を悟った瞬間、私は全く別の存在になりました。私はまるで自分が新しく生まれて、大きく開かれた門を通って楽園そのものへと入っていくかのような感覚を覚えました。その瞬間、聖書のすべての言葉が、私にとって全く別の顔をもって迫ってきました。以前は聖書を読むたびに重荷のように感じられていた言葉が、今や慰めと喜びとして迫ってきたのです。
私は記憶にある聖書の箇所を頭の中でめぐらせてみました。そして、ほかの言葉においても、これと同じ類比を見出しました。神の力とは、神が私たちを強くしてくださる力です。神の知恵とは、神が私たちを賢くしてくださる知恵です。神の救い、神の栄光もまた、私たちの救いであり、私たちの栄光でした。
それまで私にとって「神の義」という言葉は、この世で最も恐ろしく、忌まわしい言葉でした。しかし今や、その言葉は私にとって最も甘美で、愛すべき言葉となりました。私にとって、パウロのこの一節は、まことに天国へと入る門となったのです。
その後、私はアウグスティヌスの著書『霊と文字について』を読み、そこで彼もまた神の義を同じように解釈していたことを見出しました。神が私たちに義をお与えになることによって、私たちを義としてくださる、という教えでした。アウグスティヌスの説明が信仰による転嫁を完全には説明しきれていなかったとしても、神の義が私たちが神に献げるものではなく、神が私たちにお与えになるものであると教えた点において、私の悟りと一致していました。私はこの力に支えられて、さらに深く聖書の中へと入って行きました。
Martin Luther, “Vorrede zum ersten Bande der Gesamtausgaben seiner lateinischen Schriften (1545),” in D. Martin Luthers Werke: kritische Gesamtausgabe, Vol. 54 (Weimar: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1928), 185-86.
액트성경연구원 편집부 엮음
1) 시기와 장소: 이 사건은 루터가 비텐베르크의 아우구스티누스 수도원(검은 수도원)에 거주하던 시절, 수도원 건물 남쪽에 위치한 탑의 2층 서재(따뜻한 방)에서 일어났습니다. 학자들은 이 시기를 루터가 시편, 로마서, 갈라디아서 강의를 하던 1515년에서 1519년 사이, 특히 1519년경으로 추정합니다.
2) 루터의 영적·육체적 상태 (안페퉁): 당시 루터는 안페퉁이라 불리는 극심한 영적 시련을 겪고 있었습니다. 그는 신학 박사이자 성서학 교수였지만, 하나님을 자비로운 아버지가 아닌 엄격한 재판관으로 인식했습니다. 설상가상으로 그는 만성적인 변비와 치질 등 육체적인 질병으로도 큰 고통을 받고 있었습니다. 탑 안의 서재는 그가 육체적 고통과 영적 씨름을 동시에 감내하며 성경 연구에 몰두하던 치열한 전쟁터였습니다.
3) 신학적 난제: 중세 스콜라 신학(아리스토텔레스 철학 기반)은 하나님의 의를 각 사람에게 그 행위대로 갚으시는 분배적 정의로 가르쳤습니다. 이 기준에 따르면 죄인인 인간은 결코 구원받을 수 없었습니다. 루터는 이 정의의 하나님 앞에서 절망했고, 탑 속에 틀어박혀 바울 서신을 붙들고 씨름했습니다.
(1545년 라틴어 저작 전집 서문에 기록된 회심의 전모)
나는 그때 비텐베르크 대학에서 시편을 다시 강의하고 있었습니다. 로마서, 갈라디아서, 히브리서 강의를 마친 후라 자신이 있었고, 사도 바울의 로마서를 더 깊이 이해하고자 하는 열망에 사로잡혀 있었습니다. 그러나 로마서 1장의 서두에 나오는 한 말씀이 나의 길을 가로막고 있었습니다. 그것은 바로 로마서 1장 17절의 말씀이었습니다.
“복음에는 하나님의 의가 나타나서 믿음으로 믿음에 이르게 하나니 기록된 바 오직 의인은 믿음으로 말미암아 살리라 함과 같으니라”(로마서 1장 17절)
이 구절에 나오는 하나님의 의라는 단어가 문제였습니다. 나는 이 단어를 혐오했습니다. 왜냐하면, 당시 모든 박사들이 가르치던 관습적인 용법에 따라, 나는 이것을 철학적으로 이해했기 때문입니다. 즉, 그들이 말하는 형식적 또는 능동적 정의란, 하나님은 공의로우신 분이기에 불의한 죄인들을 처벌하신다는 뜻이었습니다.
나는 흠잡을 데 없는 수도사로서 엄격한 규율 속에 살았지만, 하나님 앞에서는 여전히 불안한 양심을 가진 죄인일 뿐이었습니다. 나의 그 어떤 만족스러운 행위로도 하나님을 기쁘시게 할 수 있다는 확신이 없었습니다.
그렇기에 나는 그 의로우신 하나님, 죄인을 처벌하시는 그 하나님을 사랑하지 않았습니다. 아니, 솔직히 말해 나는 그분을 미워했습니다. 나는 신성모독까지는 아니더라도, 속으로 격렬하게 투덜거리며 하나님께 화를 냈습니다. 가련한 죄인들이 원죄로 인해 영원히 멸망할 수밖에 없고, 십계명의 율법으로 온갖 재난을 당하는 것도 모자란단 말인가? 하나님은 복음을 통해서까지 고통에 고통을 더하시며, 그 복음 안에서조차 그분의 의와 진노를 들이대며 우리를 위협하신단 말인가?
나는 이렇게 거칠고 혼란스러운 양심으로 인해 미칠 듯이 괴로워했습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고 나는 바울의 곁을 떠나지 않았습니다. 나는 끈질기게 그곳을 두드렸습니다. 바울이 도대체 로마서 1장 17절을 통해 무엇을 말하려고 했는지 기어코 알아내고야 말겠다는 일념으로 목마른 짐승처럼 매달렸습니다. 나는 밤낮으로 묵상하고 또 묵상했습니다. 그러던 어느 날, 하나님께서 마침내 나를 불쌍히 여겨주셨습니다. 나는 밤낮으로 말씀을 묵상하던 중, 이 구절의 문맥, 즉 “하나님의 의가 나타나서… 기록된바 오직 의인은 믿음으로 말미암아 살리라”는 말씀의 연결 고리를 주목하게 되었습니다.
그 순간 말씀이 나에게 선명하게 다가왔습니다. 여기서 말하는 하나님의 의란, 하나님께서 죄인을 처벌하는 기준이 아니라, 하나님께서 은혜로 우리에게 주시는 믿음으로 말미암아 의인이 살게 되는 그 의를 의미한다는 사실을 말입니다.
즉, 복음에 나타난 하나님의 의는 수동적 정의였습니다. 이것은 자비로우신 하나님께서 믿음을 통하여 우리를 의롭다고 여겨주시는 하나님의 선물입니다. 이것이 바로 성경이 말하는 바, 의인은 믿음으로 말미암아 살리라의 참된 의미였습니다.
이 진리를 깨닫는 순간, 나는 완전히 다른 존재가 되었습니다. 나는 마치 내가 다시 태어나서, 활짝 열린 문을 통해 낙원 그 자체로 들어가는 듯한 느낌을 받았습니다. 그 즉시 성경의 모든 말씀이 내게 완전히 다른 얼굴로 다가왔습니다. 이전에는 성경을 읽을 때마다 무거운 짐처럼 느껴졌던 단어들이 이제는 위로와 기쁨으로 다가왔습니다.
나는 기억나는 성경 구절들을 머릿속으로 훑어보았습니다. 그리고 다른 단어들에서도 이와 같은 유비를 발견했습니다. 하나님의 능력은 하나님께서 우리를 강하게 만드시는 능력입니다. 하나님의 지혜는 하나님께서 우리를 지혜롭게 하시는 지혜입니다. 하나님의 구원, 하나님의 영광 또한 우리의 구원이요 우리의 영광이었습니다.
이전까지 내게 하나님의 의라는 단어는 세상에서 가장 끔찍하고 증오스러운 단어였습니다. 그러나 이제 그 단어는 내게 가장 달콤하고 사랑스러운 단어가 되었습니다. 내게 있어 바울의 이 구절은 진정으로 천국으로 들어가는 문이 되었습니다.
그 후 나는 아우구스티누스의 저서 “영과 문자에 관하여”를 읽었고, 거기서 그 역시 하나님의 의를 비슷하게 해석했다는 것을 발견했습니다. 하나님께서 우리에게 의를 주심으로써 우리를 의롭게 하신다는 가르침이었습니다. 비록 아우구스티누스의 설명이 믿음에 의한 전가를 완벽하게 설명하진 못했을지라도, 하나님의 의가 우리가 하나님께 드리는 것이 아니라 하나님이 우리에게 주시는 것임을 가르쳤다는 점에서 나의 깨달음과 일치했습니다. 나는 이 힘을 입어 더욱더 깊이 성경 속으로 들어갔습니다.
Martin Luther, “Vorrede zum ersten Bande der Gesamtausgaben seiner lateinischen Schriften (1545),” in D. Martin Luthers Werke: kritische Gesamtausgabe, Vol. 54 (Weimar: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1928), 185-86.
Rev. Kim Seong-hun (Grace Gospel Church, Daejeon)
1. For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4. And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7. They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12. Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14. Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16. So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
The word “faith” first of all means “to lean on.” To entrust myself to someone is like getting into a car and putting my body in its care. Faith is not needed for what I myself am able to do. Faith begins only when I am unable. When I realize I can do nothing on my own, I must collapse. Only a person who has utterly collapsed comes to rely on the Word. Is there really such a thing in this world as a person who has collapsed and a person who has not? In God’s sight, every human being has already collapsed — we simply have not realized that fact ourselves. Think of a rose that has been cut and placed in a vase. Is it alive, or is it dead? That flower is already dead. Within a few days it is destined for the trash can. Though it may look vivid for a moment, its true nature is already death. God sees the end of our lives. We cannot see it with our own eyes. Only through the Word can we see the reality of life.
The Gospel of Matthew is filled with the expression “the kingdom of heaven is like.” This is because human beings, taking only their own experience and the visible world as the whole of reality, do not know the reality of the kingdom of heaven. Many try to display their convictions through political slogans or outward actions, but true faith is not human effort — it is entrusting everything entirely to the powerful Jesus. When we have such faith, we discover an astonishing fact: the kingdom of heaven is not simply a future place we go to after death, but a present kingdom that begins within us the moment we receive Jesus as the King of our hearts. In the end, the purpose for which Jesus came to this earth, as John 3:16 says, was to rescue us from destruction and to make us live, from this very moment, the eternal life — “everlasting life.”
When human beings seize power, they inevitably rewrite the law to their own advantage and to make ruling easier. To be “under the law” ultimately means a state of heart in which I myself become the master and king, seeking to exalt myself. That is why, whenever we are under a law we ourselves have made, we inevitably sin. A life in which I am king and master is, in fact, a life at war with God.
Consider the case of King David. When did he sin? Not while he remained who he was in God, but precisely at the moment he made himself king and, by his own power, held absolute authority to say “come” and have someone come, or “go” and have someone go — that was the very moment he stepped onto the path of sin. That is why there is the famous saying, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is a timeless truth. When human beings gain power, they are bound to become corrupt. Adam, too, once given power, ruined the community through the foolish act of driving those who would have laid down their lives for him into battle to die.
What is the worst condition a human being can be in? It is the state of “pride.” Scripture makes clear whom God hates. Unlike other sins, Scripture declares, quite directly and firmly, “God hates the proud.” Ordinary people, even when they dislike someone, tend to speak indirectly, but God says outright, “I detest the proud.”
What, then, is pride? It is not merely acting proud. Refusing to acknowledge that God is King, and instead making oneself the master and king of one’s own life — that is true pride. Only when we understand this problem of pride can we finally see the meaning of the cross rightly. Of all the many ways to die, why did Jesus have to be nailed to a cross of all things? The cross was, at that time, Rome’s instrument of execution — used not for ordinary criminals, but specifically for “rebels who sought to make themselves king.” In other words, the cross is the very place where, in God’s sight, the most prideful — those who refuse to acknowledge God and seek to make themselves king — are nailed.
In the end, God planned one thing for us. Like the prodigal son who mistakenly believed there would be greater joy in leaving his father, the message of the whole of Scripture toward every hopeless human being who has left God to establish himself is only this: “Return to God.” In Matthew 20:1, the word that the master of the house went out early in the morning to send laborers into his vineyard shows us precisely that heart of God.
It is significant that the owner of the vineyard made no promise of wages to those who came in at five in the afternoon (the eleventh hour). He simply told them to go in — nothing more. These people did not go in expecting to receive something. Because they had been left idle and unwanted all day long, unhired by anyone, they went in simply hoping to catch the eye of a master who, even now, was willing to call them. For if they built this relationship with the master today, they could count on work tomorrow. And so the hearts of those who entered at the eleventh hour were filled with gratitude toward the master. Rejected by everyone else, was not this master willing to hire them? That they had finally met someone who noticed them was an overwhelming gift of gratitude. In this way, every letter and every stroke of Scripture carries meaning that matters greatly.
As evening fell, the owner of the vineyard instructed his steward to call the laborers and pay them their wages. But the order in which he did so was peculiar: “Beginning from the last unto the first.” He began paying wages with the very last to arrive — those who had come at the eleventh hour. When the work was finished, the laborers must have stood in a line. The master began his reckoning from the very back of the line, with the one who had come last.
And then something astonishing happens. To the one who had worked only one hour, he gave a full penny. That man had thought himself unworthy to receive anything, yet he received a full day’s wage. Verse 9 records: “And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.” People are naturally intensely curious about how much others receive. Is that not precisely why, in salary negotiations at large corporations, revealing to a colleague how much one earns is treated as strictly confidential? It is that sensitive a matter.
Those who came first, seeing the eleventh-hour workers receive a penny, naturally expected to receive more. If a man who worked one hour received a penny, surely they, who had labored a full twelve hours from six in the morning, deserved twelve pennies. But Scripture says: “and they likewise received every man a penny.” Having received their wages, they began to grumble against the master of the house: “These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day!” Their complaint erupted. Having toiled and sweated bucketfuls all day under Israel’s blazing sun, they protested fiercely, as if in demonstration, that it was unjust to be treated the same as one who had idled all day and shown up only briefly at the end. Then the master answers one of them quietly: “Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?”
As I talk with our members, many confess that it was only when they reached the most hopeless place in life that the grace of God came and rescued them. In this way, the grace of God is always destined to come precisely to that place of despair where we have lost all hope.
In truth, all of us are people without hope — like the laborers in the parable of the vineyard who were called only at five in the afternoon, the eleventh hour. The problem is that many people live under the illusion that they entered at nine in the morning or three in the afternoon. Because of this illusion, what ought to be a matter for gratitude turns instead into grumbling and complaint. Those who entered early, in particular, entered into a contractual relationship with the master over “one penny,” and so came to be placed under “law” — and it was precisely that legal standard that robbed them of gratitude.
The master says to them, “Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?” These workers had lost, in their hearts, the promise they had made with the master — that is, the “word.” Apart from the word, caught up in their own emotions and their spirit of comparison, they fell into grumbling. Scripture calls such people “those who belong to works.” Now, a character exactly like this grumbler also appears in Luke chapter 15 — the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son. Hearing from a servant that his younger brother had returned and that his father had killed the fattened calf, the elder son “was angry, and would not go in,” so his father came out and pleaded with him. The elder son answered his father: “Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.”
This elder son’s grumbling is exactly identical to the grumbling of the vineyard laborers: “I have labored for so many years, yet you never killed even a young goat for me — but for that brother of mine who squandered your property, you kill the fattened calf? How can this be right?” At this, the father gives his son an astonishing answer — Luke 15:31: “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” The elder son pleads his own lack, saying, “Have you ever given me so much as a young goat?” — but the father says, “I have already given you everything.” The son believes he has received nothing; the father says he has already given all. This deep gap is precisely the heart of the story.
The one who thinks he himself can accomplish something is precisely the one who relies on “works.” Returning to Matthew 20 with this perspective, the meaning behind Jesus’ words begins to come into sharp focus. In verse 14, the master says to the worker who came first, “Take that thine is, and go thy way.” This is, in truth, a fearsome statement. The word “thine” means that you received this as a rightful “payment” for the work you did under the agreed wage of one penny. So then — is this penny the master’s, or is it mine? It is entirely “mine.” Because it is my wage, rightfully earned through my own labor, it becomes my own possession, not the master’s.
By contrast, the penny received by the one who entered at the eleventh hour is something received that belongs to “the master.” It is never “mine.” Do you understand this difference? What is received by grace is not my possession — it remains entirely the master’s. In Scripture, a “thief” is precisely one who takes what belongs to the master and makes it his own. This is exactly what happens in the story in Luke 16 of the steward who wasted his master’s possessions. There, “to waste” means to use what belongs to the master as though it were one’s own — and this is precisely the mark of “one who belongs to works.”
This is a truly crucial matter for our faith. A person who believes he can accomplish something on his own will, in the end, grumble, lose grace, and become a person of complaint. But the one who says, “I am the one who entered at the eleventh hour. I have no hope of my own. I am like the woman caught in the very act of adultery” — the one who thus discovers that, apart from God, he has no hope at all, and who arrives at the very end of life — that is precisely the one who receives the grace of God. God is the one who gives such a person, by grace, the penny that belongs to “God Himself.”
The story of David proves this. When David acted like a king in his own right — deciding, judging, and acting as though he himself could do anything — he became a man who hurt those around him, a man of grumbling and complaint. In the end, God judged that David. However much David prayed, God did not listen, and the child born to him through Bathsheba died. The judgment of God had come.
When the sword of judgment struck David, he finally saw himself as one who could not escape God’s judgment. Only after enduring that severe judgment — the death of his son — was Solomon given to David. Scripture records that the son God gave in place of the dead child was Solomon. The name “Solomon” means “peace.” Peace came precisely to the very place where judgment had fallen. This is the law of God.
The moment Abraham was reckoned righteous was not because of his works. Scripture testifies that he received that promise “while yet uncircumcised” — before he was circumcised. Considering that circumcision was the sign marking the qualification of the chosen people, this means there was, in Abraham’s own body, absolutely no qualification to receive that blessing. It was in the very moment he regarded himself as “unqualified” that he was reckoned righteous by God. This was entirely “grace.” I cannot express how grateful I am for the fact that God has shown this same grace to you and to me.
I truly love our church. It is not a large church, but it is such a good place to remain within the grace of God. My wife recently injured her leg and has been somewhat inconvenienced by it, but through that very situation, I find myself feeling grateful instead. When she says, “I want to get better soon so I can cook for you again,” I am freshly reminded of just how great a happiness it was to eat the meals my wife prepared. Yesterday, when I tried cooking rice just once myself, I found that it was not easy at all. Simply the fact that my wife is by my side fills me with overwhelming gratitude. Yesterday I let our son watch me take care of his mother in her wheelchair. Whenever my wife gives some instruction or another, I shout “Yes, ma’am!” in front of our son and move immediately, saying, “Just give the orders — don’t hold back, ask me for anything.” My wife then said to our son, “You do the same for your wife someday. Did you see the demonstration of a well-trained soldier?” All of this everyday life is simply something to be grateful for.
That we are alive before God, that we have newly received this very day — this in itself is an immense gratitude. God desires to give us what belongs to “God Himself,” even if we are laborers called only at five in the afternoon. His grace is always flowing toward us.
The master says, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?… I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.” The deep meaning of this word is this: God gives what is His own to us as grace, but He does not wish it to become our own possession. Why is it grace? Because God desires that what belongs to “God” should come to us and still remain “God’s own.” He does not want what is heavenly to come to earth and be corrupted into something earthly — He wants what is heavenly to come to me and still remain heavenly. Of all that I have received, not one thing is my own; God delights that everything, as “God’s own,” remains with me always. I earnestly pray that this astonishing grace may overflow in your lives.
金成勋牧师（大田恩典福音教会）
1. 因为天国好像家主清早去雇人进他的葡萄园做工，
2. 和工人讲定一天一钱银子，就打发他们进葡萄园去。
3. 约在巳初出去，看见市上还有闲站的人，
4. 就对他们说：你们也进葡萄园去，所当给的，我必给你们。他们也进去了。
5. 约在午正和申初又出去，也是这样行。
6. 约在酉初出去，看见还有人站在那里，就问他们说：你们为什么整天在这里闲站呢？
7. 他们说：因为没有人雇我们。他说：你们也进葡萄园去。
8. 到了晚上，园主对管事的说：叫工人都来，给他们工钱，从后来的起，到先来的为止。
9. 约在酉初雇的人来了，各人得了一钱银子。
10. 及至那先雇的来了，他们以为必要多得；谁知也是各得一钱。
11. 他们得了，就埋怨家主说：
12. 我们整天劳苦受热，那后来的只做了一小时，你竟叫他们和我们一样吗？
13. 家主回答其中的一人说：朋友，我不亏负你，你与我讲定的不是一钱银子吗？
14. 拿你的走吧！我给那后来的和给你一样，这是我愿意的。
15. 我的东西难道不可随我的意思用吗？因为我作好人，你就红了眼吗？
16. 这样，那在后的，将要在前；在前的，将要在后了。
“信心”这个词，首先意味着”倚靠”。将自己交托出去，就如同把身体交给一辆汽车。信心不是我能做的事所需要的；唯有当我无能为力时，信心才真正开始。当我意识到自己一无所能时，我必须彻底崩溃。唯有完全崩溃的人，才会真正倚靠神的话语。世上真有崩溃的人和未崩溃的人之分吗？在神眼中，所有人都已经是崩溃的存在，只是自己没有意识到这一事实罢了。请想一想被剪下、插在花瓶中的一枝玫瑰。它是活的，还是死的？那朵花其实已经死了，几天之后必将被丢进垃圾桶。虽然此刻看似鲜活，但它的本质早已是死的。神看见的是我们生命的终局，我们自己的眼睛却看不到这一点；唯有藉着话语，才能看清生命的真相。
马太福音中充满了”天国好像”这样的表达。这是因为人往往以自己的经验和肉眼所见的世界为全部，而不认识天国的实存。许多人试图用政治口号或外在的行动来彰显自己的信念，然而真正的信心，不是靠人的努力，而是将一切完全交托给那位全能的耶稣。当我们拥有这样的信心时，便会发现一个惊人的事实：天国并非仅仅是死后才能去的未来之地，而是从我们迎接耶稣作我们心中之王的那一刻起，就在我们里面开始的、当下的国度。归根结底，耶稣降世的目的，正如约翰福音3章16节所言，是要将我们从灭亡中拯救出来，使我们从今时今日起，就活出那永远的生命，即”永生”。
人一旦掌握权力，就必定会为了对自己有利、便于统治而随意修改律法。所谓”在律法之下”，归根结底，意味着一种自己想要成为主人和君王、极力标榜自己的心理状态。因此，我们只要活在自己所定的律法之下，就必然不断犯罪。以自己为王、为主人的人生，就是与神为敌的人生。
请思想大卫王的例子。他是何时犯罪的呢？并非在神里面认识自己的时候，而正是当他自立为王、凭自己的力量说”来”人就来、说”去”人就去、握有绝对权力的那一刻，人就踏上了犯罪之路。因此才有那句名言：”绝对的权力，必然导致绝对的腐败。”这是万古不变的真理，人一旦掌权，就必然腐败。亚当也是如此：一旦掌握权力，便因愚昧之举，将那些愿为他舍命争战的人驱赶上战场致死，把整个群体弄得一团糟。
对人而言，最恶劣的状态是什么呢？正是”骄傲”。圣经明确指出神所憎恶的是谁。与其他的罪不同，圣经极为直接而坚决地宣告：”神恨恶骄傲的人。”常人即便心生厌恶，也往往拐弯抹角地表达，而神却直截了当地说：”我厌恶骄傲的人。”
那么，何为骄傲呢？并非装出一副骄傲的姿态，而是不承认神为王，自己却要成为自己人生的主人和君王——这才是真正的骄傲。唯有明白这骄傲的问题，我们才能真正看清十字架的意义。在众多的死法之中，耶稣为何偏偏必须被钉在十字架上呢？十字架是当时罗马的死刑刑具，专门用来处决那些”意图自立为王的叛逆者”，而非一般的囚犯。也就是说，十字架正是神眼中那最为骄傲、不承认神、企图自立为王之人被钉死的地方。
归根结底，神为我们定下了一件事。正如那误以为离开父家就能得到更大喜乐的浪子一样，圣经整本的信息，向着一切离开神、企图自立、却毫无盼望的人，只传达一个信息，那就是：”归回到神那里去。”马太福音20章1节记载，家主清早出去，要打发工人进他的葡萄园做工，这正显明了神的心意。
值得注意的是，葡萄园主对下午五时（酉初）才进来的人，并未许下任何关于工钱多少的承诺，只是叫他们进去做工而已。这些人进去，并非存着要得什么的心；正因为整天无人雇用、处于被遗弃的境地，他们才想着趁着主人现在肯用他们，好好把握这个机会。因为今天与主人建立这样的关系，就能为明日的工作留下盼望。因此，那些酉初进去的人，心中充满了对主人的感激。被所有人拒绝，这位主人却愿意雇用自己，终于遇见了一个愿意看见自己的人——这是何等的感恩。由此可见，圣经的一点一划、一字一句，其中所蕴含的意义都极为重要。
天色渐晚，葡萄园主便吩咐管事的，叫工人前来给他们工钱。然而，这发放的顺序颇为特别：”从后来的起，到先来的为止”，也就是从最晚——即酉初才来的人开始付工钱。做工完毕后，工人们想必排成了一列，主人从队伍的最末尾、最后到来的人开始结算。
然而，惊人的事发生了：那位只做了一小时工的人，竟得了一钱银子。他原以为自己毫无资格，却得着了整整一天的工钱。第9节记载：”约在酉初雇的人来了，各人得了一钱银子。”人原本就极为关注别人得了多少。这也是为什么在大企业的薪资谈判中，向同事透露自己拿了多少薪水，往往是极为机密之事，可见这是何等敏感的问题。
先来的工人看见酉初来的人得了一钱银子，自然以为自己必得更多。既然只做一小时的人得了一钱银子，那么从清晨六点做到晚上、整整劳作十二小时的自己，理应得着十二钱才是。然而圣经却说：”谁知也是各得一钱。”领了工钱之后，他们便开始埋怨家主：”我们整天劳苦受热，那后来的只做了一小时，你竟叫他们和我们一样吗！”他们的不满彻底爆发了。在以色列那炙热的阳光下整日流汗劳作，竟与那玩了一整天、只是短暂露面的人得着一样的待遇，天下岂有这样的道理？他们仿佛示威一般，激烈地抗议。这时，主人平静地回答其中一人：”朋友，我不亏负你，你与我讲定的不是一钱银子吗？”
我在与弟兄姊妹交流时常常听到，许多人正是在人生最没有盼望的境地，神的恩典才临到、将他们救拔出来。神的恩典，正是这样，总是在我们失去一切盼望的绝望之地，向我们临到。
其实我们所有人，都如同那没有盼望的人，如葡萄园的比喻中直到下午五时（酉初）才被呼召的工人一般。问题在于，许多人误以为自己是清早九时或下午三时就进来的人。正因这种错觉，本当心存感恩的事，反倒变成了埋怨与不满。尤其是那些早早进来的人，因与主人订立了”一钱银子”这样的契约关系，就落入了”律法”之下，正是这律法的标准，夺去了他们心中的感恩。
主人对他们说：”朋友，我不亏负你，你与我讲定的不是一钱银子吗？”这些人，把与主人所立的约定，也就是”话语”，从心中丢失了。他们不顾话语，被自己的情绪与比较之心所左右，陷入了埋怨之中。圣经称这样的人为”属行为的人”。而与这些埋怨者一模一样的人物，也出现在路加福音15章——正是浪子比喻中的那位长子。他从仆人口中听说弟弟归来、父亲为此宰了肥牛犊的消息后，”就生气，不肯进去”，父亲便出来劝他。长子却这样回答父亲：”我服事你这多年，从来没有违背过你的命，你并没有给我一只山羊羔，叫我和朋友一同快乐。但你这个儿子和娼妓吞尽了你的产业，他一来了，你倒为他宰了肥牛犊。”
这位长子的埋怨，与葡萄园工人的埋怨如出一辙：”我辛辛苦苦服事了这么多年，你却从未为我宰过一只山羊羔；而那挥霍尽你家产的弟弟一回来，你倒为他宰了肥牛犊，这说得通吗？”这时，父亲对儿子作出了一个惊人的回答，就是路加福音15章31节：”儿啊，你常和我同在，我一切所有的都是你的。”长子诉说自己的匮乏，说”何曾给过我一只山羊羔”，而父亲却说：”我早已把一切都给了你。”儿子以为自己没有得着，父亲却说早已全然赐下——这道深深的鸿沟，正是这个故事的核心所在。
自以为能做成什么事的人，正是倚靠”行为”的人。从这个角度重新回到马太福音20章，耶稣为何如此说，其中的意义便逐渐清晰起来。第14节中，主人对先来的工人说：”拿你的走吧。”这实在是一句令人心惊的话。”你的”这个词，意味着这是你与我讲定一钱银子的工价、凭劳作正当赚得的”报酬”。那么，这一钱银子究竟是主人的，还是我的呢？答案是：完全是”我的”。因为这是我凭正当劳作所得的工钱，所以它属于我，而不属于主人。
与此相反，那酉初才进来之人所得的一钱银子，领受的是”主人的”东西，绝非”我的”。你能明白这其中的差别吗？凭恩典所领受的，并不属于我，而是完全属于主人的。圣经中所说的”贼”，正是那把主人的东西据为己有的人。路加福音16章那位挥霍主人财产的管家的故事，正说明了这一点。这里的”挥霍”，是指将主人的东西当作自己的东西来使用，这正体现了”属行为之人”的特征。
这对我们的信仰而言，是极其重要的功课。凡自以为能做成什么的人，最终必然陷入埋怨，失去恩典，充满不满。然而，若有人说：”我就是那酉初才进来的人，我毫无盼望，我如同那行淫时被拿的妇人一般。”当一个人如此发现，离了神的自己毫无盼望，来到生命的尽头，那时，他正蒙受神的恩典。神正是要向这样的人，将那属于”神自己”的一钱银子，白白地施予恩典。
大卫的故事印证了这一点。当大卫如君王一般自行其是，仿佛自己无所不能，自作决断、自行判断、自行其事时，他便成了伤害周围之人、充满埋怨与不满的人。神终究审判了这样的大卫：无论大卫如何祷告，神都不垂听；他与拔示巴所生的孩子也死去了——神的审判临到了。
审判之剑击打大卫之后，他才终于看清自己无法逃避神的审判。正是经历了丧子这般严酷的审判之后，所罗门才赐给了大卫。圣经记载，神所赐下、代替那已死儿子的孩子，就是所罗门。”所罗门”这个名字的意思是”平安”。审判临到的那个地方，正是平安降临之处。这正是神的法则。
亚伯拉罕被称为义，并非因他的行为。圣经见证，他是在”未受割礼的时候”，即尚未受割礼之前，就领受了那应许。既然割礼是标志蒙拣选之民资格的记号，这就意味着，亚伯拉罕的身体上原本毫无资格领受那祝福。正是在他自认”我毫无资格”的那一刻，他被神称为义。这完全是出于”恩典”。神向你我所施的这般恩典，实在令人说不尽的感恩。
我实在深爱我们的教会。虽不是大教会，却是一个能安然居住在神恩典之中的美好之地。最近内人的腿受了伤，生活上有些不便，然而正因此，我反倒心存感恩。当妻子说”真希望能快点好起来，给你做饭”时，我才重新体会到，能吃到妻子做的饭，是何等大的幸福。昨天我自己动手做了一次饭，才发现那也绝非易事。仅仅是妻子在我身边这一事实，就已经令我心存无限感恩。昨天，我让儿子看到自己照顾坐轮椅的母亲的样子。妻子吩咐这样那样，我便在儿子面前大喊一声”遵命！”立刻行动，一边说着：”您只管下命令，不必有任何顾虑，尽管吩咐。”妻子便对儿子说：”你以后也要这样对待你的妻子，看见熟练教官的示范了吧？”这一切平凡的日常，都令我心存感恩。
在神面前，我们仍然活着，能够重新迎接这一天，这本身就是极大的感恩。神愿意，即便我们是那下午五时才被呼召的工人，也要将属于”神自己”的东西赐给我们。祂的恩典，始终向我们流淌而来。
主人这样说：”我的东西难道不可随我的意思用吗？我愿意给这后来的和给你一样。”这句话深层的含义是：神愿意将属于祂自己的东西，以恩典的方式赐给我们，却并不愿意那成为我们自己的所有物。为何是恩典呢？因为神愿意”属于神的”来到我们这里之后，仍然是”属于神的”。祂不愿天上的东西来到地上就变质为属地的东西，而是愿意天上的东西来到我这里，依然是属天的。在我所领受的这一切之中，没有一样是属于我自己的，全都是”属于神的”，而神喜悦这一切始终归于祂、又常在我这里。愿这奇妙的恩典，在各位的生命中满溢而出。
